Salok Bhagat Kabir, Salok 127 — why are you sleeping?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Kabir says: what are you doing, sleeping? Wake up, and cry out with fear and sorrow.
One whose home will be the grave: how can that one sleep in comfort?
Life is short, so wake up now instead of drifting through it asleep.
Sootaa ki-aa karahi: what are you doing, sleeping? This sleep means going through life without remembering the One. Jaag: wake up. Kabir's words are hard on purpose, ro-ay bhai dukh, cry in fear and sorrow, like an alarm that has to be loud to work.
Jaa kaa baasaa gor meh: one whose dwelling will be the grave. The body's last home is the ground. Kabir asks how anyone can sleep so easily, knowing that. This salok begins a short set of three that each open with the same wake-up question.
What helps you wake up and pay attention to your day?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI